Skeptical Thoughts

Skeptical Thoughts

Shakti Mat

June 10, 2018

Breakfast on 1 recently hosted a physiotherapist advertising the Shakti Mat - a yoga mat covered in plastic circles, with each circle consisting of 20 or more sharp spikes. The mat is supposed to work like a bed of nails, activating acupressure points. I've seen the mat sold at shows such as the Go Green Expo, and have stood on one - the points are really sharp, and without socks it was especially painful.

The claims made about qi and therapeutic effects are nonsense, of course.

Of course, the claims made by Shakti have been taken to the Advertising Standards Authority, twice, by the Wellington skeptical activism group, and each time the company has admitted fault and changed its advertising to remove misleading claims:

Daniel Ryan complained about the website for the mats in April last year, because they made claims such as: